Hand-brake



J. F. OCONNO'R.

HAND BRAKE. APPLICATION FILED 00T. I6, 191B.

1,344,309. Patented June 22, 1920.

A TTORN UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN F. OCONNOR, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 WILLIAM H. MINER, 0F CHAZY, NEW YORK.

HAND-BRAKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 22, 1920.Y

Application filed October 16, 1918. Serial No. 258,454.

" To all fro/wm t may concern:

-Be it known that I, JOHN F. OQoNNoR, a citizen of the United States, residing at vChicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Hand- Brakes, of

Awhich the following is a full, clear, concise,

and exact description, 'reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in hand brakes.

As is well known to those skilledin the art, there has been a pressing demand for some time for a hand brake for railway cars which vwould have greater leverage ratio than the type of hand brake which has been in most common use, that is, the hand brake of the vertical staff type employing an ordinary hand wheel at the top thereof. Numerous attemptsyhave been made to satisfy this demand, the most common method being to employ a hand lever for actuating a pawl and ratchet mechanism to rotate the staff step-by-step. Some attempts have also v been made to employ a multiplying gearing and in certain instances the two expedients just mentioned have been combined.

While many of the forms of brakes above indicated accomplish the result sought of increasing the leverage ratio, they have not met with complete success because of the unamiliarity of the brakemen with their method of operation. The brakemen have always been accustomed to turning a hand wheel while standing in a certain position and the new types of hand brakes have ne- V cessitated a different method and position of the brakemen while being operated. Also, in many instances while the increased leverage ratio has been obtained, the same has only been accomplished by sacrificing considerable ofthe speed of operation during the preliminary winding movement when the slack of the chain is taken up.

, One object of my invention is to provide a simple, efficient hand brake of the vertical staff type for railway cars wherein the brake is operated in the well known manner by a hand wheel and so arranged that the slack of the chain is taken up as rapidly as with j the old type of brakes and the final tightening movement accomplished automatically with a much increased leverage ratio.

Another object of the invention is to proyide a hand brake of the vertical staff type having means for rapidly winding the brake chain while slack and adapted automatically to increase the leverage ratio as the chain tightens without any change in manner of operating the brake on the part of the brakeman.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hand brake of the character above indicated and so designed that the usual foot-operated locking pawl and ratchet can be entirely omitted without detriment.

Other objects of the invention will more fully appear from the description hereinafter following.

In the drawing forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a part side elevational view, part vertical section of a hand brake showing my improvements embodied therein. .'Iheifigure illustrates the lower portion of the end of a freight car showing my improved brake applied in the most common position and leaving the vertical brake staff in its usual location. Figs. 2 and 3 are horizontal, sectional views, taken on the lines 2-2 and 8f3, respectively, of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a vertical, sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

In said drawing, 10 denotes the end sill of a railwaycar, 11 one of the end posts and 12 the outer sheathing. The improved brake, as shown, comprises broadly a securing bracket A, a sliding bracket or crosshead B, a vertical staff C, hand wheel D, worm E, worm nut F and brake chain G.

As shown, the bracket A comprises a vertical wall 13, a horizontal flange 14 and downwardly and outwardly extended arm 15 having a journal bearing 16 at its outer end. As clear from the drawing, the arm 15 is suitably strengthened by iianges 17--17 and vertical webs 1 8--18- The vertical section 13 of the bracket A is formed with guideways 19-19 on each side thereof` with which cooperate tongues 20-20 formed on the sliding bracket or cross-head B. The

section 23 in alinement with the journal bearing section 16 of the bracket A. Said horizontal arm 22 of they cross-head B is suitably braced by upwardly and downwardly extending vertical flanges 24a-24, as clearly shown in Figs. l and 4. Near the bottom thereof, the cross-head B has a chain idler pulley 25 rotatably mounted on a journal 26 mounted in suitable bosses 27 formed integrally on the cross-head B. As clearlyl appears from Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the idler pulley 25 is disposed to one side of the cross-head B and opposite an opening 28 provided in the vertical portion of the crosshead B, for the purpose hereinafter described. A corresponding chain idler pulley 29 is rotatably mounted in the bracket A in alinement with the pulleyy 25. The chain G passes under the pulley 29 and then over the pulley 25 and has its end link 30 attached to the combined worm nut and drum or spool F.

The staff C, at its lower end, is squared, as indicated at 31, and has the worm E applied thereon so that the worm rotates in unison with the staff. rIhe worm E is limited in its upward movement on the shaft C by a suitable collar 32 and at its lower end is provided with a journal section 33 rotating within the journal bearing 16 of the bracket A. A collar is provided on the worm- E near its lower end as indicated at 34, to

limit the downward movement of the Worm.

A worm nut F is interiorly threaded to coperate with the steep pitch threads of the worm E. The worm nut F at its upper end is providedwith an annular extension. bushing or sleeve 35 which fits within the journal bearing section 23 of the cross-head B. Said nut F has a cylindrical outer surface and it is formed with upper and lower annular flanges 36 and 37 `so that thejnut F acts as a winding drum or spool for the chain G. In actual practice, I preferably employ four threads on the worm E and make them 0f relatively steep pitch for the purpose hereinafter explained. By offsetting the pulleys 25 and 29, as heretofore eX- plalned, it will be seen that I am enabled to bring the brake chain G from the pulley 25 tangentially to the drum F while leaving the latter and the brake staff located centrally with respect to the cross-head B.

The operation is as follows: Assuming the parts in the position shown in Fig. 1, that is, with the brake not set and the chain with the usual amount of slack therein, the drum F will have its upper collar 36 free from engagement with the cross-head B. If now the brakeman turns the hand wheel D in the usual manner, that is, to rotate the staff C in a clockwise direction7 as viewed in Figs. 2.and 3, the chain will start to wind around the drum F. With the chain slack, the friction between the worm and drum F will be greater than the force required to take up the slack in the chain. In other words, during the preliminary action, the drum will rotate in unison with the staff so as to quickly take up the slack. Asthe brake chain begins to tighten and the tension thereon is increased to a certain amount, the resistance to the rotating movement of the drum will overcome the friction between the drum nut and the worm E. Consequently, as the drum nut F ceases to rotate and the rotation of the staff C is continued, the drum nut will automatically climb up the worm E and in 'so doin the flange 36 will be brought into tight frictional contact with the cross-head B and the latter in turn will move upwardly in unison with the drum nut F. The drum nut F being held against rotation and traveling vertically upwardly and in unison with the cross-head B, will pull the chain G over the idler pulley 29 and consequently the tension on the brake chain will be increased in accordance with the amount of vertical movement of the cross-head B. Furthermore, because of the arrangement of worm and worm nut, there is no danger of the brake staff turning back accidentally nor is any locking pawl and ratchet mechanism required. The device is self-locking in any adju'sted position which gives the brakeman greater freedom in applying the brakes. In addition, the selflocking feature Jermits the brakeman to ease off the brake chain by degrees so that, in spotting the cars in a hump-back yard, he can graduate the braking resistance as desired.

As will be evident to those skilled in the art, various changes and modifications may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

l. In a hand brake for cars, the combination with a vertical brake staff and hand wheel for turning the same, of a chain winding drum, means for rotating said drum when the staff is rotated and while the chainis slack, and means adapting the drum to shift axially after the slack is taken up in the chain to thereby continue the tightening of the chain. L

2. In a hand brake for railway cars, the combination with a vertical brake staff and means for turning the same, of a chain winding drum, and mechanism for either rotating or shiftin said drum axially upon rotation of the sta dependent upon the degree of brake chain tension-on the drum.

3. In a hand brake for railway cars, the combination with a vertical brake staff and means for turning the same, of achain winding drum, and mechanism for either rotating or shifting said drum axially upon rotation of the stall", dependent upon the ioo - on which to wind said degree of brake chain tension on the drum, said mechanism including a worm and worm nut interposed between the staiI and drum.

Il. In a hand brake for railway cars, the combination with a vertical brake stall' and means for turning the same, of a chain winding drum, and' mechanism for either r0- shifting said drum axially upon rotation of the staff, dependent upon the degree of brake chain tension on the drum, said mechanism including a worm, a worm nut, and a non-rotatable element adapted for frictional contact with said drum to'prevent rotation of the latter when the tension has increased beyond-a certain point.

5. In a brake of the character described, the combination with'a manually operable rotatable element, of a brake chain, a drum chain, and mechanism interposed between said drum and element adapted to rotate the drum upon rotation of said element while the chain is slack, sai drum being shiftable axially thereof when the tension on the chain reaches a predetermined point, the axial movement of the drum thereby increasing the tension on the chain.

6. In a device of the character described, the combination with a rotatable operating element, of-a chain winding drum, a chain attached at one end to said drum, leverage ratio multiplying means interposed between said element and drum adapted to rotate said drum when, the chain tension is less than a predetermined amount and thereafter shift the drum axially when the degree of chain tension on the drum exceeds said amount.

7. In a hand brake for railway cars, the combination with a bracket adapted to be secured to the end of the car, of a vertical brake stai', a chain winding drum carried by said staii` at the bottom thereof, a brake cha-in attached to the drum, a cross-head tating or head to elevate the latter to thereby increase the brake chain tension.

8. In a brake for railway cars, the combination with a bracket adapted to be secured to the car and a cross-head slidably mounted on said bracket, said bracket and cross-head each having idler pulleys for the brake chain, of a brake chain passing over said idler pulleys, a vertical'staff, a chain winding drum mounted thereon and to which said chain is attached, said drum being adapted for axial movement in addition to its rotative movement, and means operated by the stall' for imparting either rotative or axial movement to said drum at dierent times, dependent upon the brake chain tension.

9. In a brake for railway cars, the combination with a bracket adapted to be secured to the car and a cross-head slidably mounted on said bracket, said bracket and cross-head each having idler pulleys for the brake chain, of' a brake chain passing over said idler pulleys, a vertical staff, a chain winding drum mounted thereon and to which said chain is attached, said drum being adapted for axial movement in addition to its rotative movement, and means operated by the staff for imparting either rotative or axial movement to said drum at different times, dependent upon the brake chain tension, said means including a worm on the brake staff and a worm nut rotatable in unison with the drum.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 14th day of Oct., 1918.

JOHN F. OCONNOR,

said staff and drumy 

